The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Silver Glade on February 01, 2016, 01:58:33 PM
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So that Loyal Subjects G1 MLP topic got me thinking - what do most of y'all think about the CONCEPT of articulation in MLP toys? Like, ignore the past attempts - they've been less than satisfactory, usually. :P But if they could do the design well and not cut corners (3-jointed legs, body parts without weird indentation or bulges, etc.), would you be okay with poseable ponies? Or do you just not like the look in general, and much prefer the "static" molds? Some other reason? Let's see your thoughts!
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It almost seems like a response to cries for new poses. "Here! Articulated ponies! We give you infinite poses of your making!"
But instead they just look like skeleton ponies to me, especially Coco because she's bone colored!
I think the only way it would work for me is if they wore clothing (like a Barbie) that could hid the joints.
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If it weren't for the joints and huge heads, I'd be all over these puppies! I'm even okay with Scoopity-Split
In general, no. I don't like jointed horses no matter what brand. It just ruins it.
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The only jointed horse toys I've seen that are pretty good in design are several of the Barbie horses, whether poseable figures, battery-operated walking horses, etc. But they, by and large, have the anatomy and musculature of real horses - they're not diminutive chubby lil things like MLP. :P
I suppose often it's the joint seams that are so conspicuous and distracting? I definitely can understand that.
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Are any Hasbro staff reading here? Maybe we can feed them some ideas, haha :)
I'm no fan of joints in general.
1) They look out of place. I love the overall smoothness of ponies when you touch them (and I prefer the G1 touch to the G4 touch as well, G4 often feels too glossy), and joints always "break" this smooth surface.
2) They are often made out of different plastic, so they fade or discolour differently from the rest, and that looks bad.
3) Joints often tend to wear out and then they are too loose, or the opposite happens - they get dirty/dusty/whatever reason and something blocks them so they do not move at all, oftentimes in a weird position (of course!).
4) Depending on how they are constructed, they pose another possible source for rust.
5) Everything that can break will break at some point. I'm still traumatised from that decapitated Barbie in my childhood.
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I don't mind the idea of poseable ponies but it just never seems to come out right. They always use hard plastic and joints which look clunky. I wish someone would come up with one that was all one piece of soft plastic with bendable wire inside. This would make the pony poseable without all of the clunky joints.
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I don't mind the idea of poseable ponies but it just never seems to come out right. They always use hard plastic and joints which look clunky. I wish someone would come up with one that was all one piece of soft plastic with bendable wire inside. This would make the pony poseable without all of the clunky joints.
Like Julip Horses?
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It would probably be impossible for mass production, but I wish Hasbro would take notes from this BJD pony:
http://silverbeam.deviantart.com/art/BJD-Pony-326864272
(Minus the head. It looks too much like the SFM ponies to me and I hate those models)
But that's the kind of jointing I'd like to see. Looks much better.
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If they weren't so awkward-looking, I'd love to have a few in my collection. They seem fun!
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I love them! They're so much fun to pose. The only ones I don't like are the ones that only do specific functions (like the applejack that kicks like she's bucking apples)
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It depends on how things are made. I bought some fakie monster high dolls to make a jointed styling pony some years ago. the pony's body was hollow so I stuffed it with fimo and placed the joints. I was gonna do a robot pony and it was very poseable, It could lay down and even sit like a dog :P because I filled the body with fimo, the body was heavy and didn't fell down when posing. It all depends on how the plan is executed!
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It would probably be impossible for mass production, but I wish Hasbro would take notes from this BJD pony:
http://silverbeam.deviantart.com/art/BJD-Pony-326864272
(Minus the head. It looks too much like the SFM ponies to me and I hate those models)
But that's the kind of jointing I'd like to see. Looks much better.
this is a great example for G4 but it would be hard with G1. G4 design doesn't fully articulate the joints - it's much more vague. G1 design definitely tried to make efforts to show the caricature of an equine leg. You can't do that AND hide the joints very well...
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For play? Sure, why not. I enjoyed my ballerina g1s immensely... Some (most?) might hate it, but it can be fun for those who like it.
For something seen as a collector item, probably not.
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I'm a "yes- with reservations." I'd looove a really really nicely done jointed pony and I don't even think the ballerina ponies were too badly done. The leotards really helped mask the weirdness of the joints but they still ended up kind of wonky. My issue with them so far is that either they aren't jointed enough to make a real difference in terms of posability (ballerina ponies / new strange big head G1) or they are very jointed but just look so awkward (the explore Equestria singles).
I mean, how much posing can you do with a pony that has legs jointed only at the hip? It's kind if ridiculous to even bother. Having a knee joint (or whatever that would be on a horse- the ankle?) would make it so much more posable, but I don't know if it could be done without looking really awful.
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I would love to have a poseable Minty or (be still my heart) Snuzzle, but I'm also one of those people who would be super picky with how the joints looked/worked etc. I wouldn't want their entire look to change but I do have to say the idea of being to pose them is tempting.
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The concept has been around for a while, but the execution is never done well.. Thing is they try to keep the joints as simple as possible and with G4 ponies their body style really doesn't even accommodate that well.
I've seen jointed horses done before and they can look really nice, though the joints are complex...
One of the issues I've noticed with the Jointed G4 ponies is that their joint are designed like doll joints, which in most cases can turn a full 360°.. which is something even a human joint cannot do XD plus the joint anatomy in general is wonky. I only bought one to study the joints and see what will work and what will not..
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Nay. I've particularly never understood the obsession with articulated EG dolls or ponies. The joints make the ponies look clumsy and weird-looking. But I'm not some artsy photographer, so I don't care about putting ponies in cute poses or any of that stuff.
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While I picked yes tbh I'm not sure why I like the idea so much. With dolls I only really care if the arms are posable because it makes them more like expressive individuals instead of a row of clones on my shelves. But with ponies it's harder to come up with poses that make them expressive yet still standing. I'd really just like to be able to make them sit or maybe raise a front hoof.
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If it was done well, I'd be happy with poseable ponies as a variation. That said, I'm not really 'involved' enough with ponies to bother with actually posing them. XD
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Ish? I'm not to fond of the new G4 ones or the G1 vinyl thingies.
Most G2 ponies look kinda awkward too :P But Light Heart was one of my favourites when I was younger, because she could be posed
http://lavenderlagoon.weebly.com/1997lightheart.html (http://lavenderlagoon.weebly.com/1997lightheart.html)
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No, yikes! It always turns out looking awful anyway. That said, the baby ballerina ponies are one of my favourite sets. :P I'm pretty sure it's their leotards that saved them from looking awful.
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Are any Hasbro staff reading here? Maybe we can feed them some ideas, haha :)
I'm no fan of joints in general.
1) They look out of place. I love the overall smoothness of ponies when you touch them (and I prefer the G1 touch to the G4 touch as well, G4 often feels too glossy), and joints always "break" this smooth surface.
2) They are often made out of different plastic, so they fade or discolour differently from the rest, and that looks bad.
3) Joints often tend to wear out and then they are too loose, or the opposite happens - they get dirty/dusty/whatever reason and something blocks them so they do not move at all, oftentimes in a weird position (of course!).
4) Depending on how they are constructed, they pose another possible source for rust.
5) Everything that can break will break at some point. I'm still traumatised from that decapitated Barbie in my childhood.
+1 with all of what Shileah says
Even if they put wires hidden inside ot will be too much, also the outside plastic will have to be more "elastic" to move and usualy is not good looking or just not good quality.
For me a well designed soft plastic toy doesnt need any extra: its perfect how it is ;)
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The only one I have seen that was able to achieve a good sit was that one G3 with the posable back legs. Not a single one of the posable G4s has been able to do a good sit.
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I like the jointed ponies we've gotten so far ( the new G4's are particularly creepy. XD) But I do have to agree they don't look the best. Personally I think that any type of jointed pony are always going to look weird or feel off since MLPs are designed to be static dolls that don't move much save for a head rotation. Even if more thought and budget were put into them so they'd be more like action figures or ball jointed dolls they'd still have a ton of segmentation which might not jive too well with the various MLP styles. The only example I can think of are those highly articulated Pokemon figures. They're gorgeous l but if I look at them for too long the multiple joints become glaringly obvious and rubs me the wrong way.
Here's that D-Arts(?) Mewtwo from the back. x-x
http://www.animetoynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130516-095905-e1368803566692.jpg (http://www.animetoynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130516-095905-e1368803566692.jpg)
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I like them but I think it would be better if they had molded hair (feels like I'm messing it up every time I'm posing her!) or more head movement (at least for an up/down movement). I don't mind visible joints at all since I already collect similar toys, but yes they can look very out of place on smooth characters!
They suit better as being a side toy, the main toyline should just have the head (especially with G4's "one pose fits all" style).
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It doesn't work on small toys, IMO. They just end up looking weird.
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I like the idea of a jointed pony, but I think that MLP's style does not adapt well to this kind of thing. The designs are already stylized after all, so jointing it can make you realize how wonky the design is.
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I haven't seen it in action yet but I think I might prefer how the Loyal Subjects did it to how Hasbro's most recent effort did. Simple joints at the body and most importantly a neck joint instead of knee joints. The Hasbro articulated ponies have always looked at the sky if you try and sit them which looks awkward. The new ones actually look good in a sit minus the neck which ruins it. I would rather sacrifice an extra joint and get a neck joint.